Smith believes George Williams is England’s future

Matty Smith believes that his Wigan half back partner George Williams will be a mainstay in the England team for years to come.

Despite playing the first two tests of the recent series with New Zealand, Williams was replaced by his club teammate, Smith, for the final test decider at the DW Stadium.

Smith produced a man-of-the-match performance in a 20-14 win for England, but the 28-year old was adamant that Williams has a bright international future ahead of him.

“He is England’s future. He is going to be the bloke that pulls that shirt on for the next eight or 10 years,” Smith told wigantoday.net.

“It’s tough for him but I think he will keep proving with Wigan next year how good he is and he will be here again. He will be winning stuff like this again.”

Smith also spoke about the way in which Williams reacted to the news of losing his place, and how impressive he was by it.

I’ve spoken to George, and he actually came up to me and said ‘that’s the way it is – that’s the sport’. For a 21-year-old to do that, it just shows how much confidence he’s got,”

“He’s got that much talent he will come again, and he will probably learn from this,” he said.